#MOvember and Me!! Raising money for Men’s Health.

I know this is not a skilled event! I get it! I am not running a marathon, training for the Olympics, making the world a safer place, not curing world hunger or any other of the million noble and worthwhile goals that people strive for in their personal lives. I have shaved off facial hair on November 1st, 2011 and I am growing it back, hopefully better than before and I am doing all of this “work” in the month of November, herein called, MOvember. Wow! I know, what a lofty adventure and geez, I hope he makes it… Yadda, yadda, yadda… We all good now??

What is Movember and why do I care to participate and why am I writing this to ultimately ask for donations to support my quest, as it were;( taken right from their homepage at http://ca.movember.com )

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in Canada and around the world. With their “Mo’s”, these men raise vital funds and awareness.

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words, they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health. At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.

Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne Australia, Movember has grown to become a truly global movement inspiring more than 1.1 Million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate, with formal campaigns in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa and Ireland. In addition, Movember is aware of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas supporting the campaign and men’s health cause across the globe, from Russia to Dubai, Hong Kong to Antarctica, Rio de Janeiro to Mumbai, and everywhere in between.No matter the country or city, Movember will continue to work to change established habits and attitudes men have about their health, to educate men about the health risks they face, getting them to act on that knowledge thereby increasing the chances of early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment. In 2010, nearly 119,000 Canadian Mo Bros and Mo Sistas got on board, raising $22.3 million CAD.

On a personal note, my Dad was diagnosed with Prostate cancer some 15 years ago. Caught nice and early, he was treated and all is good. It showed me, and hopefully my brother, that early detection is pretty key. It also motivated me sign up this year with MOvember Canada to see if I could help raise some awareness and funds for a very good cause. Because of the business that I am in and because of the length of time in this industry, I am trying to leverage my contacts,as much as possible, to step up and donate a few bucks to a great cause. I am also using the contacts and friends on the various social mediums such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Whatever it takes. Every dollar helps.

Whether you donate to my account or to a friend or family member, please make sure that you do donate to help us find a cure for another cancer that seems to be taking more and more men every year.